Another day off the river today still putting things together for the next leg of the journey. The pieces are falling together nicely for the transition into the Gulf of Mexico. I learned that the lock just below downtown New Orleans that links the river to the Gulf Intracoastal waterway is operational. I had heard rumors that it was not which would have meant a difficult portage or a different route. I’m still not completely sure that is the route I’ll be taking but it is looking like the most likely spot right now. Tomorrow (Thursday) Michael volunteered to take me on a road trip to explore by truck a bit of the coast line I’ll be seeing in a few days when I enter the Gulf. I’m starting to feel like I’m cheating by pre-scouting but Michael really wants to go down and see it anyway (it’s near the Pearl River, one of his favorite areas to paddle) so he’s totally up for the drive. If we can locate one spot of high ground between the lock on the river and a town called Waveland on the coast I’ll have almost all the pieces put together and won’t have to wing it as I go. I’m probably making more of this section than I need to but this pre-planning can mean the difference between having fun and suffering through a night on a mud bank.

I did take a break today to see a bit more of the town and visited the Baton Rouge art and science museum and planetarium. It was a nice museum and I saw an interesting video (projected in 360 degrees on the dome ceiling of the planetarium) about underwater dinosaurs. As big as those animals were it’s interesting to think that the biggest known animal the earth has ever seen is alive right now. The Blue Whale and it’s a mammal besides.

After the museum I walked up the levy bank to the Ingram Barge Company docks to see if I could get a shot at the main goal of my day…A chance to meet a tow boat captain, and if I was lucky a tour on one of their boats. I had checked in the night before and the security guard said that the shift change was at 4:00 and that’d be my best chance. So at 4:00 I arrived and approached the first two guys I saw coming off the docks. One of them turned out to be partly in charge of that facility. Unfortunately, because of post 911 Homeland Security regulations, there is no way I could get on one of the boats. However Tommy Grantham turned out to be a super guy and was very willing to tolerate all my questions. I chatted with him for over an hour then he introduced me to the mysterious man in the black hat that even the security guard had told me to look for. The man they all call “Cowboy”.

Cowboy - almost needs no introduction

About six foot three, with a full white beard, wearing black denim pants, and always the black cowboy hat, Bill Williams is a man not to be messed with. Cowboy got his start in the barge industry shortly after getting out of Vietnam in the late 60’s. He didn’t answer some mystical call to the river, he simply needed a job and his father knew they were hiring on the barges so he applied and got on as a deck hand. After two seasons of working on the deck he talked to the boss and said he wasn’t interested in working another season like that, he wanted to get up into the wheel house. The boss was apparently impressed with the young Cowboy because he got moved up and started the long process of becoming a tow boat captain. The rest is forty years of history operating barges from the gulf canals all the way up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Tommy said that Cowboy is a tough captain that demands that things are done…just so, on his tows. His experience has earned him the respect of his crews and he is a very good captain.

When Tommy introduced me as a guy that’s kayaking down the river Cowboy instantly asked if I was the crazy guy that came through the other night. I replied cautiously “Yep, that’s me.” and Cowboy just shook his head. Tow operators pretty much all think that kayakers and canoeists are crazy. Like Cowboy said “Crazy, not stupid… there’s a difference.”

After paddling for 1000 miles on the river and seeing hundreds of tows going up and down with me I just wanted to know what how tow operators would like us (in our tiny boats) to do to make their jobs easier when interacting with us. From talking to Cowboy what it pretty much boils down to is that for much of the time they can’t see us. We don’t show up on their radar and there is an enormous “blind spot” in front of a tow (several hundred feet long) where they can’t see what’s on the river in front of them. If you’re crossing in front of a tow, up to a quarter mile away, they may not be able to see you. All they know is that you’re out there somewhere and that they’re moving toward you fast. It makes them nervous, kind of like the mouse under the elephants foot scenario. In a perfect world for a tow operator, we wouldn’t be out there. Cowboy even said it though;

“I know why you all’er doin’ it, for the adventure and everything. But you’re crazy. Crazy, not stupid….”

On bends in the river, small boats are of exceptional concern for tow operators. They have two main techniques for making a bend in the river. Both require a lot of room to maneuver and can put either end of the tow very close to shore. I saw the tows take up a lot of the river but at flood stage like I’ve seen it there has always been room to spare. At lower water the ends of the tow and often the back of the tow boat can end up “up in the willas” along the bank. Of course depending on which technique the tow captain is using to make the turn will determine which bank he is closest to. If they know where you are they can adjust a bit to accommodate you if you can’t get out of the way. What it boils down to is communication. They would love to know where you are and just exactly what it is you’re planning to do, and to be able to tell you what they are going to do. It’s a whole lot easier for a paddler to hang out above a turn and let the tow clear out than it is for them to move for us. I carried a VHF all the way down the river with me and never found occasion to turn it on. Because the river was so wide I never felt threatened by the tows. I know now that I probably should have turned it for some of the tight turns just to let the tows know I was there and was staying out of their way. I’ll definitely be using the radio a lot over the next two days on the river where I’ll be seeing more traffic than I have on the entire river combined.

Cowboy with Tommy Grantham from the Ingram Barge Company

Tommy is a manager of sorts in the engineering side of the operation which his brother bought a long time ago and the two of them grew from a one boat operation to a much larger three boat operation. Judging by the hellos from the crew coming and going and by what Cowboy said, Tommy and his brother are well liked by their crews. They were recently bought out by the Ingram Barge Company and are still adjusting to the way things are done in a big corporate business. What this facility does is essentially act like a sorting hub where they use somewhat smaller tow boats to build tows (rafts of barges) and pull barges off of tows coming up and down the river to get them to the specific locations where they need to go. I learned from Tommy that the smaller tow boats can have from 800 to 1000 horsepower engines driving the screws (props). The big tow boats pushing the big rafts of barges up and down the river can run up to three engines with a combined power of ten times the smaller boats…10,000 horsepower. It’s no wonder you can feel the vibrations of the motors through the water.

I had heard stories about the crews being stuck on the boats for months. I learned that it’s not true, the crew schedules vary from company to company and route to route. But the long haulers can work anywhere from 12 to 28 days on the tow followed by a bunch of time off. The companies generally have a home “port” where the crews must report then are driven or flown to where the tow boat is waiting to do a crew change. The outgoing crew is then driven or flown back to the home port. A tow boat company is certainly not a small time thing.

As I had guessed after detecting the smell of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen of a passing tow boat (of course after I ate another bowl of oat meal) that the crews are very well fed. Tommy laughed and said that they’re actually trying to change the culture on the boats a bit. As you might expect meals are brought to the captain or pilot steering the tow so he can keep working. Of course he’s not exactly doing jumping jacks up in the wheel house so he pretty much stands around and eats all day. Consequently tow boat captains tend to carry a little more weight around the mid section than they probably should. Crew sizes vary but on a big tow you can expect to see a captain, pilot, engineer, a half dozen deck hands, and of course the cook. Sometimes a couple more deck hands are added to work fill in shifts when things get busy. They generally work six hour watches followed by six hours off. There isn’t much for the crew to do once the tows are assembled so much of their time is spent cleaning the boat. It shows too because almost every tow boat on the river is spotless, they are absolutely gleaming bright.

I was amazed to hear exactly how the “switching” operation that this facility operates actually works. Depending on where the barges are that need to be shuffled out of the raft are located, very often the big tow never stops moving. They just slow down and the smaller tow boats pull what needs to be pulled (while moving) and the big tow continues on…. Time is money in the shipping industry I guess.

Check out this link to the Ingram Barge Company web site it should go to a cargo comparison feature. It’s amazing just how much those barges can haul.

I am glad to hear that positive voice I have come to know back in your blog. Enjoy the ride!

Mike

Reply

Steve Retz

1/7/2010 02:11:43 am

Very interesting! Good Job! I am enjoying your blog very much. Safe paddling.

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lois

1/7/2010 05:06:59 am

Hey Jake,

Not only is your blog interesting,,, I am getting a great eduacation on geography and culture!! (are you too?)

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Neil F

1/7/2010 09:43:57 am

Very interesting! Who would have thought they couldn't see you within a quarter mile of their bow. I can see where they would appreciate a little communication with other boaters, be it kayaks or whatever. Quite an education.

There was ice on the oranges yesterday in Florida, so let's hope by the time you get there things will have warmed up. Things are pretty brutal here in sunny San diego; yesterday 77 in my back yard. Hey, somebody's gotta live here.

Stay safe.

Neil F

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Tootie

1/8/2010 01:05:19 am

Reply

Tootie

1/8/2010 01:08:31 am

My finger hit the wrong key! You are having quite an experience. I took a 100 mile cruise up the Mississippi and really enjoyed it. We were able to in and sit by the Capt. and listen to the traffic on the radio and ask questions, etc. Would do it again some day. Sure do enjoy sharing your trip with you. The way you write, you must write a book when you are through with this adventure. Take care and I hope weather improves for you. God Bless

Please do more good article.Your blog is very well, I like it so much.I will always follow it. Thank you for your sharing! I very much look forward to you will continue to make more updates in this regard.